The First Descendant Dev Asks Players to Stop AFK Farming, Please

Ever since The First Descendant launched at the end of June it’s had an away from keyboard (AFK) problem. Now, developer Nexon has asked its player base to please stop going AFK and please refrain from AFK farming.

Nexon’s free-to-play co-op focused looter shooter has enjoyed enormous popularity, with over 10 million players in just 10 days. But out on the battlefield there’s an increasingly troublesome issue that’s driving some players up the wall: AFK farming.

AFK farming isn’t a problem unique to The First Descendant, but in this game it’s particularly bad. The idea is players join a mission with others and simply twiddle their thumbs while everyone else does the hard work, then reap the rewards such as experience at the end.

I’ve seen AFK farmers first-hand while playing The First Descendant — they’ll sometimes be spinning around in a circle, clearly in a bid to avoid any AFK detection Nexon may have in place. As players progress through the mission the AFK farmer will be forcibly teleported to catch-up, even to the boss fight, where they’ll continue to run around in circles.

Nexon issued a statement in response on social media that covered AFK farming, as well as going AFK during co-op play generally. “If you need to step away, please do so in Albion only!” Nexon said, pointing to the game’s main town. But the statement also covers cheating, which is an increasing issue for The First Descendant.

Here’s the statement in full:

Lately, there have been increasing reports of inappropriate behavior in our game. While the dev team is working on measures, we want to remind Descendants of the following guidelines:

1️⃣ The use, distribution, or creation of unauthorized programs is strictly prohibited. 🚫

2️⃣ Do not go AFK during co-op play. If you need to step away, please do so in Albion only! 🚶‍♂️🚶‍♀️

3️⃣ Please refrain from AFK farming during missions. 🤖🚫

We’re always striving to create a fun and pleasant gaming environment for Descendants! 🎮✨

Please keep in mind these rules and help us build a greater community together! 🤝🌟

This statement, which essentially amounts to a “play nice” warning, will only do so much, so players are calling on Nexon to add proper anti-cheat measures and anti-AFK farming mechanics. Some, however, are defending AFK farming because, they insist, they’re so sick of The First Descendant’s crushing grind that they’ve lost the will to play properly.

The First Descendant is a massive hit already, but Nexon will be mindful of growing its player count as the game evolves, and we’ve seen how difficult this has become for so many publishers and developers who have entered the ultra competitive live service market in recent years.

While The First Descendant is clearly a hit it is not without controversy, and sits on a ‘mixed’ user review rating on Steam. Players have heavily criticized The First Descendant’s ultra aggressive monetization, which includes $100 character bundles and premium customization items that expire after use. Nexon was also accused of copying Destiny 2 icons for the icons used in The First Descendant, something the company has now said it will address in-game.

Anti-afk measures would be great. You already have it in Albion if you idle for too long you’re booted back to menu.

So far, that’s one of the very few things I don’t like about the game.

— James Getty (@DigitalHitmann) July 16, 2024

Every game in god knows how long has auto kick, this game even has auto kick! I know because I’ve been kicked in Albion! This is kind of a toothless response to the problem, sadly

— NXN Gaming (@NXNStreams) July 16, 2024

Generally speaking, The First Descendant is a mash-up of mechanics from various looter shooters already in the market. There’s more than a whiff of Destiny about The First Descendant’s design, systems, and mechanics, but then there’s also a lot of Warframe about it, too.

Last week, Nexon released a significant update for The First Descendant that makes some big changes to the game, but leaves some aspects that had become a topic of discussion within the community well alone.

IGN’s The First Descendant review returned a 5/10. We said: “The First Descendant has all the building blocks of a fantastic looter shooter, but they’re buried under a pile of monotonous quests, a terrible story, and an infuriating free-to-play model that has influenced its game design in the worst possible way.”

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.